It didn’t happen overnight, but that’s exactly what I did. I decided to do more of what I loved and less (a whole lot less) of the things that were short on satisfaction and long on stress. I took the time to figure out what truly energized me and set out to do more (a whole lot more) of those things.

I still love to travel, but what I have now is a life I don’t need a vacation from. I love the things that fill my days. In addition to spending more time with my family and pursuing my hobbies, what I do these days falls into three main categories:

Content Contessa

Every person, every product, every business has a story to be told. I love finding those stories and telling them in ways that create understanding, evoke emotion, or prompt action. Have laptop, will travel.

Content Contessa

But getting the right words onto the paper isn’t where good copywriting starts. First, we need to find your voice.

Finding your voice or style takes a combination of research, skill and intuition. At some point, though, I promise you we’ll hear it. And when a well-crafted message is relayed in your unique voice, we get content that sings with a pitch, tone and timber that’s all your own– and it’s magic.

I’m open to all sorts of projects, but these are my favorite things to do:

Content Development

Website Navigation

Copywriting

Blogging

Ghostwriting

White Papers

Speech Writing

Editing and Polishing

Proofreading

Ready to skip the business babble and go straight to copy that is crisp, clean and compelling?

The Last Pilgrim

At the height of my career angst, I decided to take a walk. A 500-mile trek from Saint Jean Pied de Port, France to the uppermost northwest corner of Spain, to be exact, on an ancient pilgrimage path called the Camino de Santiago.

The Last Pilgrim

I’m not an experienced hiker, but I knew it was important for me to make my way on the Camino alone. During my 33-day experience, I met people of all ages from all over the world. I learned remarkable things about my fellow human beings, myself, and life in general.

Being a stranger in a strange land changed me. When I came home, I turned the experiences and lessons I had blogged about along the way into a presentation called The Last Pilgrim. I love to share The Last Pilgrim’s message with groups of all kinds including:

Empowering Community Leaders Network – High School students

WomenWrap® – Professional Women

Stranger in a Strange Land – Men/Women (All ages)

Third Bloom – Women in Transition

Walking Each Other Home – Men/Women (All ages)

Moving Mountains Speaker Series* – High School students/parents

Empowering. Inspiring. Humbling. Joanne speaks her truth and wisdom with such transparency that she is all of us. She is us. The Last Pilgrim is a reminder that it's never too late to begin our journey and become what we might have been.

Service Above Self

Discovering what you love to do isn’t worth a bag of beans if you don’t use those things to leave the world a better place. That’s why I have been a proud member of the Rotary Club of Frederick for 15 years.

Service Above Self

Rotary is a global organization of 1.2 million people dedicated to changing the world. In keeping with our Service Above Self motto, we plan and carry out service projects that provide clean water, fight disease, improve education, enhance economic development, support mothers and children, and promote peace– in our communities and around the world.

I am honored to have been asked by my fellow Rotarians to serve as President of the Rotary Club of Frederick during our club’s 100th anniversary year in 2020-21.

Impact starts with our members. Want to explore what it means to be a Rotarian?

I imagine by now you’re wondering what my career reimagining has to do with you. It’s simple. You want to work with an enthusiastic, joyful person who’s productive, experienced, and reliable, right? Well, now that I don’t wake up every morning pondering what fresh ring of hell awaits me at the office, my clients tell me that I bring all that good stuff to the table… and more.

I guess it comes down to this: I love what I do. I love this industry. And I’d love the chance to talk with you about how we might work together.

Rates

I keep my production schedule manageable, so I am not always in a position to accept work no matter how much I’d like to. When I do have an opening, I think you’ll find my rates to be both fair and competitive. What I charge depends on the size, depth, and scope of the project, how quickly you need it, and your budget.